Chrono: A System for Normalizing Temporal Expressions

The Chrono System: Chrono is a hybrid rule-based and machine learning system written in Python and built from the ground up to identify temporal expressions in text and normalizes them into the SCATE schema. Input text is preprocessed using Python’s NLTK package, and is run through each of the four primary modules highlighted here. Note that Chrono does not remove stopwords because they add temporal information and context, and Chrono does not tokenize sentences. Output is an Anafora XML file with annotated SCATE entities. After minor parsing logic adjustments, Chrono has emerged as the top performing system for SemEval 2018 Task 6. Chrono is available on GitHub at https://github.com/AmyOlex/Chrono. Future Work: Chrono is still under development. Future improvements will include: additional entity parsing, like “event”; evaluating the impact of sentence tokenization; implement an ensemble ML module that utilizes all four ML methods for disambiguation; extract temporal phrase parsing algorithm to be stand-alone and compare to similar systems; evaluate performance on THYME medical corpus; migrate to UIMA framework and implement Ruta Rules for portability and easier customization

Mesenchymal stem cells from tumor microenvironment favour breast cancer stem cell proliferation, cancerogenic and metastatic potential, via ionotropic purinergic signalling

Interaction between tumor cells and the microenvironment is key in initiation, progression, and invasiveness of cancer. In particular, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are recruited to the sites of developing tumors, thus promoting metastasis formation. Although it is well known that MSCs migrate and integrate in the tumor microenvironment (TME), their fate and function inside the tumor is still not clear. In this study, we analyzed the role played by MSCs in breast cancer oncogenesis. Data indicate that interaction of breast cancer cells with MSCs results in an increased proliferation and metabolic activity of breast cancer cells, partially due to MSC-derived microvesicles that are shed in the TME. Moreover, we addressed the question of whether we could modulate such interaction by acting on P2X-mediated intercellular communication. By inhibiting P2X-mediated purinergic signaling, we succeeded in reducing both the cancerogenic as well as the metastatic potential of breast cancer cells co-cultured with MSCs, in 2D as well as in 3D in vitro models. Data obtained demonstrate for the first time that the trophic effect of MSCs on breast cancer cell growth is exerted via ionotropic purinergic signaling, thus suggesting the inhibition of the purinergic signaling system as a potential target for therapeutic intervention

The effectiveness of neuromuscular warm-up strategies, that require no additional equipment, for preventing lower limb injuries during sports participation: a systematic review

PMCID: PMC3408383The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/75. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

A systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of exercise therapy for groin pain in athletes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Athletes competing in sports that require running, changes in direction, repetitive kicking and physical contact are at a relatively higher risk of experiencing episodes of athletic groin pain. To date, there has been no systematic review that aims to inform clinicians about the best available evidence on features of exercise interventions for groin pain in athletes. The primary aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the available evidence on the effectiveness of exercise therapy for groin pain in athletes. The secondary aim of this review was to identify the key features of exercise interventions used in the management of groin pain in an athletic population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, SPORTSDiscus, Embase, AMED, Ovid, PEDro, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and Google Scholar databases were electronically searched. Data relating to research design, sample population, type of sport and exercise intervention was extracted. The methodological evaluation of included studies was conducted by using a modified quantitative critical appraisal tool.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The search strategy identified 468 studies, 12 of which were potentially relevant. Ultimately five studies were included in this review. Overall the quality of primary research literature was moderate, with only one randomised controlled trial identified. All included studies provided evidence that an exercise intervention may lead to favourable outcomes in terms of return to sport. Four of the five studies reviewed included a strengthening component and most utilised functional, standing positions similar to those required by their sport. No study appropriately reported the intensity of their exercise interventions. Duration of intervention ranged from 3.8 weeks to 16 weeks. All five studies reported the use of one or more co-intervention.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Best available evidence to date, with its limitations, continues to support common clinical practice of exercise therapy as a key component of rehabilitation for groin pain in athletes. Overall, the available evidence suggests that exercise, particularly strengthening exercise of the hip and abdominal musculature could be an effective intervention for athletes with groin pain. Literature provides foundational evidence that this may need to be in the form of progressive exercises (static to functional) and performed through range. There is currently no clear evidence regarding the most effective intensity and frequency of exercise, because of a lack of reporting in the primary literature.</p

Analysis of the three most prevalent injuries in Australian football demonstrates a season to season association between groin/hip/ osteitis pubis injuries with ACL knee injuries

BACKGROUND: Injuries are common in contact sports like Australian football. The Australian Football League (AFL) has developed an extensive injury surveillance database that can be used for epidemiological studies. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to identify any association between the three most prevalent injuries in the AFL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From the AFL injury surveillance data 1997-2012 the injury incidence (new injuries per club per season) and the injury prevalence data (missed games per club per season) were analysed to detect the three most common injuries that would cause a player to miss a match in the AFL. The three most prevalent injuries in the AFL are hamstring strains, groin/hip/osteitis pubis injuries and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) knee injuries. Following this, further study was undertaken to detect the presence of any statistical relationship between injury incidences of the three most prevalent injuries over this sixteen year study period. RESULTS: Statistical analysis demonstrates for any given year that there was an association between having a groin/hip/osteitis pubis injuriy and having a knee ACL injury (P < 0.05) over the entire sixteen years. In other words if the number of groin/hip/osteitis pubis injuries in any given season were higher than average (alternatively lower) then the number of knee ACL injuries were also higher than average (alternatively lower) for that same season. Hamstring injuries had the highest variance of incidence of the three most prevalent injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the AFL injury data demonstrates an association between incidence of groin/hip/osteitis pubis injuries and incidence of knee ACL injuries for any given playing season. This finding is difficult to explain with further research being required.Geoffrey M. Verral, Adrian Esterman, Timothy E. Hewet

Lumbar position sense acuity during an electrical shock stressor

BACKGROUND: Optimal motor control of the spine depends on proprioceptive input as a prerequisite for co-ordination and the stability of the spine. Muscle spindles are known to play an important role in proprioception. Animal experiments suggest that an increase in sympathetic outflow can depress muscle spindle sensitivity. As the muscle spindle may be influenced by sympathetic modulation, we hypothesized that a state of high sympathetic activity as during mental stress would affect the proprioceptive output from the muscle spindles in the back muscles leading to alterations in proprioception and position sense acuity. The aim was to investigate the effect of mental stress, in this study the response to an electrical shock stressor, on position sense acuity in the rotational axis of the lumbar spine. METHODS: Passive and active position sense acuity in the rotational plane of the lumbar spine was investigated in the presence and absence of an electrical shock stressor in 14 healthy participants. An electrical shock-threat stressor lasting for approximately 12 minutes was used as imposed stressor to build up a strong anticipatory arousal: The participants were told that they were going to receive 8 painful electrical shocks however the participants never received the shocks. To quantify the level of physiological arousal and the level of sympathetic outflow continuous beat-to-beat changes in heart rate (beats*min(-1)) and systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) were measured. To quantify position sense acuity absolute error (AE) expressed in degrees was measured. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements (subjects as random factor and treatments as fixed factors) was used to compare the different treatments. RESULTS: Significant increases were observed in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate during the stress sessions indicating elevated sympathetic activity (15, 14 and 10%, respectively). Despite pronounced changes in the sympathetic activity and subjective experiences of stress no changes were found in position sense acuity in the rotational plane of the lumbar spine in the presence of the electrical shock stressor compared to the control period. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that position sense acuity in the rotational plane of the spine was unaffected by the electrical shock stressor

Using technology to improve the management of development impacts on biodiversity

Funder: The research was funded through a long‐term collaboration between Conservational International and Chevron.Abstract: The mitigation hierarchy (MH) is a prominent tool to help businesses achieve no net loss or net gain outcomes for biodiversity. Technological innovations offer benefits for business biodiversity management, yet the range and continued evolution of technologies creates a complex landscape that can be difficult to navigate. Using literature review, online surveys, and semi‐structured interviews, we assess technologies that can improve application of the MH. We identify six categories (mobile survey, fixed survey, remote sensing, blockchain, data analysis, and enabling technologies) with high feasibility and/or relevance to (i) aid direct implementation of mitigation measures and (ii) enhance biodiversity surveys and monitoring, which feed into the design of interventions including avoidance and minimization measures. At the interface between development and biodiversity impacts, opportunities lie in businesses investing in technologies, capitalizing on synergies between technology groups, collaborating with conservation organizations to enhance institutional capacity, and developing practical solutions suited for widespread use